Dictionary.com Privacy Policy

The following discloses our privacy policy for the following web sites: Dictionary.com, Reference.com and Thesaurus.com (the "Sites"). Dictionary.com LLC ("we" or "us") takes your privacy concerns seriously and we strive to earn and keep your trust. Please do not hesitate to contact us with your questions and concerns (contact information is provided below).

Each time you visit one of the Sites, we collect the limited information that your browser makes available whenever you visit any website. This information includes: (a) your Internet Protocol (IP) address; (b) the address of the last URL you visited prior to clicking through to the Site; (c) your browser and platform type (e.g., a Netscape browser on a Macintosh platform); (d) your browser language; and (e) the data in any undeleted cookies that your browser previously accepted from us. You may also decide to give us your email address and cell phone number to receive certain communications from us (such as the Word of the Day emails or SMS messages.

We use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server, and to administer our Sites. Your IP address may also be used to gather broad demographic information.

We do not use your email address to send your unsolicited e-mail. If you are receiving e-mail from us, it is because at some point you, or someone with access to your e-mail account, requested it. We may include advertisements in the emails that you receive from us (such as the Word of the Day emails). You can always opt out of any e-mail we send you simply by following the instructions that appear at the bottom of the e-mail message in question. If you are receiving e-mail from us in response to an inquiry you made, we will use your e-mail address for no purpose other than to respond to your inquiry

We use your cell phone number to send you SMS messages as requested by you. In order to no longer receive SMS messages from us you may text STOP to 44636. We may also share your cell phone number with third parties that we trust for them to send you advertisements and promotional offers that we think may be of interest to you. .

Some elements on the Sites such as the sponsored links advertising on our pages, are supplied to us by third parties under contract. We may supply some of the information we collect from you to those third parties so that they can provide those elements for display on the Sites. We may share the following information with third parties: (a) your Internet Protocol (IP) address; (b) the address of the last URL you visited prior to clicking through to the Site; (c) your browser and platform type (e.g., a Netscape browser on a Macintosh platform); (d) your browser language; (e) the data in any undeleted cookies that your browser previously accepted from us; and (f) the search queries you submit. For example, when you submit a query, we transmit it (and some of the related information described above) to our paid listing providers in order to obtain relevant advertising to display in response to your query. These third party companies have their own policies as to record keeping and data retention.

The Sites contain links to other sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such Web sites.

Dictionary.com shares your personal information only in aggregate form, so that only anonymous information is shared with our affiliates, advertisers and business partners. We do not share any information about specific visitors. For example, we may tell potential advertisers that we have a certain number of subscribers to our Word of the Day mailing list, but we would never tell them that you personally are a subscriber.

We use cookies for various purposes, including:

to customize and enhance your experience on the Sites
to control ad delivery and customize ads based on the web pages you visit, the links you click, and the searches you conduct on the Sites and on other sites with which Dictionary.com has advertising partnerships
to indicate your subscription status (to check whether or not you are signed in as a subscriber)

A cookie is a small text file that is stored on a user's computer for record keeping purposes. Cookies can be either session cookies or persistent cookies. A session cookie expires when you close your browser and is used to make it easier for you to navigate our website. A persistent cookie remains on your hard drive for an extended period of time.

Through the use of a cookie, we also may automatically collect information about your online activity on the Sites, such as the web pages you visit, the links you click, and the searches you conduct on the Sites. When you sign in to your account on ourSites, we will record your user or member ID and the name on your user or member account in the cookie file on your computer. We also may record your password in this cookie file, if you indicated that you would like your password saved for automatic sign-in. For security purposes, we will encrypt any usernames, passwords, and other user or member account-related data that we store in such cookies. In the case of Sites and services that do not use a user or member ID, the cookie will contain an anonymous unique identifier. We may allow our authorized service providers to serve cookies from our Sites to allow them to assist us in various activities, such as doing analysis and research on the effectiveness of our Site, content and advertising.

You may delete or decline cookies by changing your browser settings. (Click "Help" in the toolbar of most browsers for instructions.) If you do so, some of the features and services of our website may not function properly.

Public Forums

This site makes chat rooms, forums, message boards, and news groups available to its users. Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information.

Security

We have security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under our control.

Children's Guidelines

This Web site meets the guidelines of TRUSTe's Children's program.
We DO NOT:

collect online contact information without prior parental consent or parental notification, which will include an opportunity for the parent to prevent use of the information and participation in the activity. Without prior parental consent, online information will only be used to respond directly to the child's request and will not be used for other purposes
collect personally identifiable offline contact information without prior parental consent
distribute to third parties any personally identifiable information without prior parental consent
give the ability to publicly post or otherwise distribute personally identifiable contact information without prior parental consent
entice by the prospect of a special game, prize or other activity, to divulge more information than is needed to participate in the activity

Third-Party Advertisers

We may allow third-parties, including our authorized service providers, advertising companies, and ad networks, to display advertisements on our Sites. These companies may use tracking technologies, including cookies,to collect information about users who view or interact with their advertisements. Our Sites do not provide any personal information to these third parties. This information allows them to deliver targeted advertisements and gauge their effectiveness. Some of these third-party advertising companies may be advertising networks that are members of the Network Advertising Initiative, which offers a single location to opt out of ad targeting from member companies (www.networkadvertising.org).

Choice/Opt-Out

If you are receiving e-mail from us and wish to stop, simply follow the instructions at the bottom of the e-mail message in question or use the unsubscribe form on these pages:

Law Enforcement/Legal Requirements.

We may disclose your personally identifiable information as well as your IP address and other information in order to comply with court orders, subpoenas, or regulatory obligations, or when otherwise required to do so by law. We also may disclose such information in compliance with a law enforcement or other governmental request, or where we believe disclosure is necessary to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, or violations of our Terms of Use

Contacting Us

If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this Web site, you can contact:

Dictionary.com, LLC
Attn: Customer Service
Ask.com
555 12th Street, Suite 500
Oakland, CA 94607
E-mail